CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL FOUR WAYS

Not too long ago, 2nd Man made a huge pot of chicken soup and vegetables.  He used two whole chickens and lots of vegetables.  We love chicken soup because we can be so flexible as to what we put in it.

Chicken soup cooking

This big batch was made up of chicken and onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, yellow squash and this time, we added some corn (2 cobs cut into fourths) and some kale because we had it on hand.

Chicken soup

On the first night, we eat it as good old chicken soup and eat up all the corn that we put in it.  Then we keep the leftovers and each night, we only take out enough for what we are serving each of us.

Matzo ball soup

On the second night, he made matzo balls (his first ever attempt and they were good) and served them by filling bowls with more broth and fewer vegetables.

Chicken noodle soup

On the third night, we cooked a pot of egg noodles and then added them to our dished up portions and had a wonderful chicken noodle soup...

Cream of chicken soup

And finally on the last night with the last of the leftovers, he added cream and some seasonings (a little turmeric gives it this wonderful color and warmth) and had 'cream of chicken' kind of soup, finishing it all off.

Each night is just different enough that we don't get tired of it.  It's not really like having the same thing every night and getting tired of it.  It's a great way to make a big meal on a weekend and change it up for a few more meals.  In the end, it's also pretty inexpensive for all the great meals we get.

Anyone else do anything like this multiple different leftovers from one big dish?

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

March?!  Sigh.  This year is FLYING by already.

Time for some good food and some Hobart!

Everyone knows chicken and waffles with maple syrup, well, here's one of our favorites, chicken and tortillas with honey!  I make achiote rojo chicken and 2nd Man makes corn tortillas and then we just drizzle a little honey over it all.  It's muy delicioso!

 Hobart is so happy to have sunshine after so many overcast and cold days, so of course we have to push a dining room chair over to the window so he can be on his afghan (he covers his eyes of course).  Because...

#notspoiled

NEW CART OLD CART

Living in a high-rise, carrying groceries and packages to and from the parking garage, up and down the elevators, back and forth in the halls etc can be difficult.

When we moved in, we got a small rolling cart for that purpose.  It was used and abused and served us well over the last few years but it was time for a new one.

We got this one recently.  Here it is, larger and more sturdy than our old one and can carry more, both in volume and weight.

Then we decided that it might be some good Karma to take our old one downstairs with a sign on it and let someone else use it for a while.  I printed "FREE" on a piece of paper and took it downstairs to the place where I always find the good stuff and left it.

About an hour later, all that was left was the sign...the cart was gone!  It's off to a new home with someone else who was probably as excited to find it as I am with my finds.

Paying it forward for all the stuff we've found!

PICKLED RED ONIONS REFRIGERATOR

Here is how I do the red onions you've seen in some recent pictures.  We make these and keep them in the refrigerator (or share with friends/family).

Let us start by saying, this is NOT a canning recipe.  

They are not shelf stable.

So recently, a coworker (the one who gave us the jalapeños and sweet potatoes) brought a sack of purple onions and asked "who wants them?"  I knew immediately what I'd do with them.

Pickled onions!

First, I peeled them.  This was the first batch, ultimately I used all of them.

I put a colander into a bowl so I could put them in as a sliced them and to do something else.

Be sure to slice them thinly.  An easy way to get the strips like this is to slice the onion in half (root end to stem end) and then slice them perpendicular to that, as thinly as possible and you'll get the perfect pieces.

I toss them in the colander as I slice them and then when I'm done, I cover them with boiling water.

...this step is optional but it does take away some of the strong onion flavor and mellows it out.  Just pour some boiling water over the onions (that's why I used the colander in the bowl), let them soak while you are getting everything together, a few minutes is fine, and then just pour off the water.

This is the brining liquid for the jars.

1 1/2 cups of white vinegar

1 1/2 cups of boiling water

2 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP kosher salt

Stir it all together so that the salt and sugar dissolves.  This should be enough to fill the three quart jars.

For the first batch, I added some extras

(mix-ins if you will).

2 sliced jalapeños

1 TBSP mixed peppercorns

1 TBSP red pepper flakes

Fill the jars about 3/4 full with the onions that have been soaking in the hot water.  Put in your additions and pour in the brining liquid to top it all off.

For the second batch, I used the rest of the onions to make three more jars with no additions but changing the type of vinegar.  One with apple cider vinegar, another with red wine vinegar and finally one with just the regular white vinegar as the first three only without the additions.

Be sure and label these because once the red color leaks into the water, they all look the same, ha.

Again, these aren't shelf stable.  Though there are recipes out there for canning, these just go in the fridge and are good for a couple of months.  They are a staple in Tex-Mex cuisine and are just darn good on about anything you want to put them on.

THE WEEKEND AND HOUSE UPDATE

How's this for cold and dreary?

Gray and gloomy day

This was Saturday.  Got there about 9:30am and it was overcast, gray, windy and in the 50's.  Not COLD per se, but definitely a bit cool to be outside in the wind.  The ground is also still a bit too wet for mowing but oh my, you can see the grass growing and these little white flowers on some kind of weed.

Last weekend, you may recall that we posted about going to look at some modular homes by a couple of different builders.  We went with a higher end dealer at first but wow, they are really high end.  The dealer said they run about $175/sq foot.  So a 2000 square foot modular/manufactured home would be $350,000.  Plus delivery, plus a permanent foundation, plus whatever else we needed to have done.  Probably a hard no, on that brand at least.  Another brand was a step down but still a lot. We have to acknowledge that if we are going to spend a lot, what do we get for it?

More gray and gloomy from another angle, ha

Now, we are leaning toward a new build but instead of a standard home, we're considering something a bit different.  More on that to come as we get more details...we've reached out to three companies and one is already working up some estimates for us.

We used to always joke, early on when we met and talked about the future, that if we ever built a house, we'd start with the kitchen and work our way outward, ha.  A new build may give us that chance to get something that is exactly "us" and that we have a hand in helping to design/create.  If we're going to spend money on something, we have to consider what we get in the end and how it will work for how we live.

As we mentioned with the remodel, we'd spend the lowest amount but end up with a pretty house that's still old with potential problems underneath.

If we go with the modular or manufactured, we spend a whole lot on the high end but can't modify it to be something that works for how we want to live.

If we spend somewhere in between the two for something a bit bigger than we have now but not over the top big and we get to help design it exactly the way we want it...

Maybe that will be just right!

We actually have a list with pros/cons for each option.  When all the decision making is done, we'll go with one of the choices!

There are some other things coming soon as we prepare for the house change.

Stay tuned!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

Last weekend we posted a picture of our favorite fried chicken from a local restaurant.  At the time, we hadn't finished cooking our homemade ribs. It's our tradition on Daytona 500 race day and Fourth of July weekend.

Here they are in all their glory.

Actually, I made everything on this tray so 2nd Man got the weekend off from cooking.  These ribs are so good and so easy.  The coleslaw is made without sugar because 2nd Man is not a fan of the really sweet versions that are usually out there.  It's also low-carb so that's a plus.  I made these pickled red onions a couple weeks ago for tacos and this (post coming up).

It was a wonderful meal.  When I took this picture, 2nd Man said it looked like something from a magazine, ha.

Here we are, I'm sitting on the couch with Hobart next to me and the race on the big screen.  I was trying to catch him watching the cars zoom by on the screen which he sometimes does, but it was a bit cold last weekend and he preferred to stay wrapped up in his warm red blanket.  Because...

#notspoiled

HAPPY GO TEXAN DAY 2023

 We know some of you are going, "happy WHAT?".

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo starts next week and every Friday before the rodeo starts is called "Go Texan Day".  It's the official kickoff of the three week long rodeo and everyone in Houston is encouraged to wear Western attire such as jeans, cowboy boots and hats, etc. There are trail riders that make their way into Memorial Park, a parade downtown and a World Championship BBQ cookoff tonight.

Then next week, the rodeo starts...

Every night, after the rodeo events of the day, there are huge concerts featuring mostly country artists but some others to draw in different crowds. You can buy a ticket to just the rodeo or just the concert or both.  It was cancelled for two years because of the pandemic but it was back last year limited and now full scale this year.

There are usually great displays of livestock, things to buy and food...LOTS OF GOOD FOOD. We'll probably go one day at least, probably not the concert but to roam around and see the sights.  Speaking of sights...

...a couple of weekends ago we were leaving the farm and happened upon this just down the road.  Always fun to see out in the country on our back roads.  These are trail riders...they come to Houston on horseback, covered wagon, etc, from all over Texas.  Some leave a few weeks before because it takes that long to get here.  They were stopped here taking a break.  Keep in mind, at this point on the ride, they are on horseback, still about 50 miles from where they will end up.

Quite the journey and not the longest by any means.

If we end up going this year (we're still a bit nervous to be around large crowds like this) we'll take lots of pictures to share.

ONE APPLE TREE DIED

Not sure what happened but one of our apple trees died over the Summer.  It wasn't the freeze, this picture was taken in October.  We've just been waiting, hoping it would come back with Spring coming.

It has not come back.  The one next to it has bloomed out but this one is dead.  We clipped a few branches and yep, dry and lifeless.  Not sure what happened.  It wasn't the drought and it wasn't the freeze. 

Well, time to plant a new tree.  We have two of each of our fruit trees, so we'll look for another apple.  Might have to splurge and get one a bit bigger so it catches up with the others more quickly.

We win some, we lose some...

OUR INDIAN SPICE BOX MASALA DABBA

A few years back, I got this for 2nd Man's birthday.  We had seen similar containers on cooking shows and food documentaries and I decided he needed one for his own culinary adventures.  When using it the other day and then refilling it, I realized I never put up a post about it.

They are officially called "Masala Dabba".  An Indian "spice box".  They come in ceramic and wood but as those can have a tendency to absorb aromas so the more common ones are stainless steel.  There are many styles, square, round, boxes inside or bowls, etc.

I searched high and low and finally found this one.  I loved the design and style with the pattern on top, it was pretty enough to leave out on the counter.

Here are some different varieties, there are some really pretty ones out there for sure:

Amazon Spice Boxes

The design on top is unique and distinctive.  It's glass with this pattern printed on it.  This outer lid is tight to provide an airtight seal.

When you remove that, there is another inner lid with a knob handle that sits on top of the containers and because it's flush with the tops, it helps keep the aromas in each and the spices fresh.

Then you have access to your wonderful spices.

Not too long ago, you may remember that we went to Penzey's spice store and that's when we restocked the ones we were running low on.

I printed labels to put on each one.  While some might be identifiable by aroma and/or color, we like having labels so we know for sure.  From what we've read, each family's box is often unique to them with the special ingredients they use for their signature dishes.  There is certainly no reason you couldn't put any seasoning in one if you were so inclined.

Our box contains:

Coriander

Balti

Tandoori

Sate

Curry

Cardamon

Vindaloo

One thing for sure, it's gorgeous when filled!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART DAYTONA 500 SUNDAY

Yesterday was a good day.  More on those events in an upcoming post but it all went well.  Just figuring out next steps now.  Yesterday we skipped the BBQ because we realized today we are having my bbq ribs and the sides.  But since that's later today after this posts, we'll save those pics for next weekend.

But here is a bonus food photo (some of you may have seen on Instagram yesterday):

We stopped at a restaurant here in Houston called "Barbecue Inn".  It's been around since 1946 and while the name implies BBQ, which is delicious, they are nationally known for their fried chicken.  It's an old school restaurant where some of the people there have been working for decades and they call you "hun" and "sweetie", ha!  We haven't had it in 3 years now (pandemic) and as always, it was amazing.  We don't know what their secret is but, well, whatever it is, it's wonderful.  I get a plate of dark meat, 2nd Man gets a plate of white meat and we get fries and a salad.  

And for more photos, here is what we had last weekend for Super Bowl Sunday...fajita tacos.

Pickled red onions, shredded cabbage, queso fresco, pico de Gallo, Mexican crema and a squeeze of lime.

All together it made great tacos.  These look full but they are smaller flour tortillas.  2nd Man had corn tortillas for his.

Here's Hobart, laying on the table which he's not normally supposed to do but, I mean, look at that face?  So we allowed it.  Because...

#notspoiled

Today is our traditional Daytona 500 Raceday meal (yay for the return of NASCAR), but more on that next Sunday since the pics will be taken later today.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!